Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor, an image forming apparatus using the same, and an image forming method. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrophotographic photoreceptor for use in a proximity charging-type image forming apparatus, an image forming apparatus using the electrophotographic photoreceptor, and an image forming method.
Description of the Related Art
A photoreceptor for use in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter, also referred to as “electrophotographic photoreceptor” or “photoreceptor”) such as a copier or a printer is required to have high durability to be able to stably form an excellent image for a long time. However, wear caused by contact with a cleaning blade or the like, which is one of determinants of the life of a photoreceptor, is a limiting factor for the life expansion of an electrophotographic photoreceptor. An effective measure to reduce such wear is to allow the electrophotographic photoreceptor to have a surface layer formed using low-resistance metal oxide particles having a large particle diameter. However, such a surface layer is likely to increase a torque and reduces the cleanability of the photoreceptor. Therefore, JP 2015-114453 A proposes a photoreceptor having a surface layer containing melamine-formaldehyde condensation resin particles to improve cleanability.
However, the photoreceptor described in JP 2015-114453 A has a problem that when the photoreceptor is used in a proximity charging-type image forming apparatus, wear resistance and transfer memory resistance are not sufficiently compatible with each other. Further, in addition to these capabilities, a photoreceptor is required to have image deletion resistance and durability.